Church Potluck for Todd

The second day of partying continued for Todd! On Sunday, we had a potluck at the park with our church family. I was in charge of the planning for this one which i truly thought would be a simple feat. Ha! I was wrong but we managed to get it all worked out nonetheless!

We ordered pizza for 124 people & then everyone brought a salad of sorts or fruit to add to the meal. And did i mention we had more cake? Yep, that makes 3 days straight on the dessert front. (Eli's party, the family get together, & then this!) I was so over cake that the thought of icing any more cupcakes made me shudder! :)

Despite the heat, we had a great time of fellowship! I just love our church family! Couldn't ask to be part of a better work!

We all put together a small scrapbook for Todd to take overseas with him. Each family completed a page that included a photo of their family, and a scripture to encourage Todd. I hope it will be a faith builder for him while he is away from our congregation. It actually turned out to be a tear jerker when looking through it. But then again, emotions are starting to run high in anticipation of his departure. We hope we can be a blessing to Rebecca & the girls while Todd is away & we will earnestly pray for Todd (as well as his whole family) during their time of separation from each other.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

Family Farewell Party

This past weekend, we had 2 parties for my brother in law, Todd. He is deploying in a few weeks and we wanted to have a get together to celebrate him & give all our family & friends a chance to see him before he is gone for a year. The first party was for his family and there are a lot of us! So we rented a clubhouse & had burgers and 'dogs and a lot of laughter. Here are some pictures from this party.
The monstrosity of a cake I made! It was 6 layers high...
There was SO much food! And major props to my Dad who grilled out all the burgers & hot dogs early that morning before driving up from Wilmington!

My mama & her pretty flower in her hair! :)
My brother, Jeff and sister in law, Malissa...
Todd's mom playing with Sara Beth.
I happened to have my camera handy when my dad was sitting right by himself & dying laughing at someone else's conversation! I hope it was a good joke!
Todd, his Mema, his dad & the girls...
Todd & his Mema
My cousin Ed & his beautiful family... wife Angie & their daughters Abbi & Hannah...
You should all know who these folks are! :)
Me, my amazing mother in law & my hubster...
My mom, aunt Peto, & my cousin's new hubby, Brian!
Todd, hanging with his friends from Wilmington. The father (Jack?) was in Todd's old unit there.
Todd's family: His dad, step mom, aunt, Mema, brother & his girlfriend.
The kids!
My mom & cousin, Ed.
Grandaddy & Hattie Mae. (This was the giggle I got after I told them to act like they loved each other! )
Grandma Tee & Sara Beth...
Rebecca & Todd's cousin, Alecia...
There was such a great turnout & I know that Todd appreciated everyone's effort to come out & support him.

First Day of Pre-K (The last year!)

This morning was Eli's first day of school! This will be his final year in pre-K before starting Kindergarten next year & we are lucky to have gotten the teacher Jackson had this same year in pre-k. We love her!

I had plenty of time to take pictures this morning before Eli had to be at school but we ran into 2 issues:

1) My lens kept fogging up because of the horrible humidity:

and 2) It started to rain right after my lens de-fogged. Ugh!

We finally went to the porch to get a decent picture, but it wasn't the one I wanted for a scrapbook page I had in mind! But he is adorable nonetheless!
Of course, all the while, I am telling myself that we can try again after school. Nope! It was a monsoon all day! And to top it off, when I got to school this morning, I whipped my camera out to take a picture of him with Mrs. White & then realized I had taken my CF card out. So i had to improvise with the cell phone.
Here he is at pick up with Mrs. White!
I know he will have a great time in her class this year! When we got in the car he said, "Mama! You know what my favorite part of the day was? It was centers!" He is so different from Jackson. I have to pull info out of Jackson, but Eli is an open book! :)